Words of Hosea in the Bible: I have sent my prophets to you with my message of judgment and destruction. Hosea 6:5
The prophet Hosea was a minor prophet who preached in the Kingdom of Israel before its destruction, and his words are a reflection of a time when the fear of God had been forgotten, and the simple and common people had given themselves over to heresy.
The Bible relates that after Solomon's death, only the Kingdom of Judah remained for the Davidic dynasty, while the rest of Israel separated and took a completely different route. Israel's first king, Jeroboam, led his kingdom down the path of idolatry, building golden calves and bringing them to places of worship in Dan and Bethel, and so many Israelites fell into error. But this was not enough and many kings of Israel took foreign women as queens, such as Ahab who married Jezebel, a Phoenician princess. This woman was responsible for persecuting many prophets and introducing the cult of Ashtoreth and Baal in Israel.
And it is in this context that the work of the prophet Hosea took place. As a wise teacher, the prophet taught that love without the fear of God cannot bear fruits of blessing. The spiritual gift of fear of God is defined as constancy, firmness, devotion, equanimity, and stability. For the prophet the relationship between God and his people was a marital relationship perfected by the spiritual love, but the Israelites, due to the hardness of their hearts, could not respond to the love required by the Lord, and so the prophet warned with these words: "But the LORD says, ´Israel and Judah, what am I going to do with you? Your love for me disappears as quickly as morning mist; it is like dew, that vanishes early in the day" Hosea 6:4.
The prophet continued with his oracle, and expressed the true love of God: "I want your constant love, not your animal sacrifices. I would rather have my people know me than burn offerings to me" Hosea 6:6. But the prophet also knew that the error of the Israelites, which had been sown like the wind, would return to them like a storm, so the prophet anticipated the end of the Kingdom of Israel, which would occur with the Assyrian invasion: "I have sent my prophets to you with my message of judgment and destruction" Hosea 6:5. Hosea's teachings are a reminder of the need for God's wisdom to lead a full and secure life.
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